Sham safety school certified thousands of construction workers: Manhattan DA

A purported construction safety training school issued certificates and cards to nearly 20,000 workers over three and a half years, including one that ultimately lost his life on the job.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Valor Security and Investigations and its top executives on Wednesday. The charges include enterprise corruption, criminal possession of a forged instrument and offering a false instrument for filing.

From December 2019 to last April, Valor allegedly issued cards and certificates claiming workers received the mandatory 40 hours of safety training for construction site work, but authorities say that Valor failed to actually provide such training. Only two issuers provided more certificates and cards in the city during that period than Valor.

Led by president Alexander Shaporov, Valor allegedly had arrangements with brokers — 19 of whom were charged in the indictment — to obtain safety cards and certificates with fraudulent information. Valor allegedly charged between $300 and $600 per filing for a safety training card, often receiving cash. Emails and text messages allegedly showed executives making arrangements for the cards.

Undercover investigators caught up to Valor when they purchased safety certificates and received them almost immediately without completing the requisite training. Valor also allegedly submitted a completed safety test from an undercover investigator who never actually took the test.

Shaporov allegedly used ill-gotten gains to purchase multiple homes, luxury cars, jewelry and a yacht.

In November 2022, 36-year-old Ivan Frias died after falling from the 15th floor of a construction site at 263 West End Avenue. Valor submitted paperwork that it provided Frias 10 hours of safety training, including eight hours specifically dedicated to fall protection. The Manhattan DA’s office alleged no such training occurred.

“In the construction industry, fraud can mean life or death – not only for the individuals working on the site, but for the general public that moves around them every single day,” Bragg said in a statement.

The defendants were arrested on Wednesday morning and expected to appear in court later in the day, according to ABC News. Workers with a card from Valor are being asked to seek retraining.